Beautiful Bryant Creek in late June

The "sister" river of the North Fork, the Bryant Creek, considered to be one of the best Smallmouth Bass streams in Missouri, is in beautiful condition for floating and fishing. Pictures from June 28th, 2008.  Click to enlarge.

June 28th - Status of Nuts and Fruits

by the end of June the Paw Paw's, Black Walnuts, and Blackberries are in good shape as shown by these photos from ROLF.

Arrowhead canoe going to ROLF in early August

The St. Louis Meramec Canoe Company was founded by Alfred Wickett in the early 1920's. Wickett previously worked for the Old Town Canoe Company from ca.1900 to 1914 and he founded the Penobscot Canoe Company (Pecaco) in 1915. Alfred Wickett was a resident of Kirkwood, Missouri.

In the early 30's, Wickett, with his son Laurence formed the St. Louis Boat and Canoe Company, and Laurence later formed the St. Louis Boat and Motor Company. The building still stands on Barton Street in Valley Park.

The canoes produced are generally thought of as higher quality than Old Town or Penobscot canoes. They are highly sought after by collectors and canoeists. The real prize on this one is the intact decal which is so rare on any Arrowhead canoe that it makes the canoe much more valuable.

The 16'  Meramec Arrowhead canoe is a fine solo canoe and great tandem day tripper. Because of it's low volume (which creates speed) is not a good tandem weekend tripper. The hull has excellent final stability and it very fast and quiet. Actual decal of canoe is shown. Contrary to common belief, this canoe would do quite well on the North Fork with an experienced paddler at the helm. It is light, quiet, and easy to maneuver. 

Old Ozark County ozarks scenes

The old buildings of the first half of the 20th century are slowly disappearing.

Sunset from Whispering Pines cabin

About 8:45 PM on or near the longest day of the year (06/21/09).

Find the trout in the North Fork of the White

There is a good sized rainbow in this picture and you see him/her ?? Click to enlarge.

Just another North Fork Summer Sunrise

When I see this picture, I wish I was at River of Life Farm. Picture taken 6/25 at top of hill at 5:25 AM.

North Fork Watershed - where does the spring water originate from ??

Since the North Fork is so heavily spring fed; the question arises -"where does the water from Blue Spring, North Fork Spring, and Rainbow Spring come from ?  The following picture from USGS shows where. One can also see that the water almost entirely passes by the Bryant Creek watershed; exception Hodgkins Mill spring. These studies were done with red dye.  Click on USGS pictures to enlarge.

Leonard Fly Rod circa 1880-1881

This 10 1/2' trout rod is a beautiful rod from my collection of vintage rods. Made by the H. L. Leonard Fly Rod Company; Central Valley, NY in about 1880. This is the exact same type of rod rod and model that Theodore Gordon used in the Catskills from 1880 -1900. I acquired this rod about 2 years ago and even though it is not the oldest Leonard I have (I have 2 Bangor Leonard's also made 1873, and 1877) it is a complete rod with a butt, 2 mids, and 3 full length tips. original bag and tip tube. These rods were made for use with horse hair lines, possibly very early silk lines.  Notice the ferrules are spiked. Marked "Sole Agents - Wm. Mills and Son, N Y" which means it was not made in Bangor Maine. Complete and in original condition. The Leonard Rod Company was one of the best known bamboo rod makers until about 1970. Click to enlarge pictures. The Patten Collection.

Deer drinking in the morning just after dawn

A doe and her two older fawns having a cold drink at dawn on the North Fork downstream from ROLF.

Dusk on the North Fork of the White River

A 9:00 PM view from a ridge-top on a hazy summer evening.

Red Eyed Vireo

One of the ROLF's common birds, the Red-eyed Vireo is heard far more than it is seen. It sings continuously from the forest canopy from dawn to dusk. The vireo's song is a series of phrases interspaced with short pauses, like the song of an American Robin broken into pieces. The White Eyed Vireo is also common at ROFL and is more often heard near the North Fork River banks.

I heard a good number of these birds while staying in the Whispering Pines Cabin.